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Ummm, I don't think that's going to work

I took my youngest to his 18 month appointment today. His regular pediatrician was out of town so we saw the other pediatrician in the practice. I knew there was going to be a discussion about his weight. It's been a discussion at every appointment since birth. He's a tiny guy and always has been. We had a discussion about him not eating meat. I've offered it, but he just doesn't like meat at all. She gave me such a lecture and I got to the point where I just said, "I've been vegetarian for nearly 20 years and I have a degree in nutrition so I am completely aware of what he needs in his diet and what alternatives there are to meat and he is getting what he needs." Then there was the discussion about him drinking almond milk instead of cows milk, since they haven't diagnosed any milk protein allergy or the like. "Well, we tried milk when he weened from nursing and he got horribly constipated so we tried almond milk and he does much better" So now she says he's drinking too much milk and not enough water. I'm supposed to decrease his milk by 1/2 and double his water intake and then keep a food journal and come back in 2 months to see if he's gained weight. So essentially she just told me to decrease calories and get him to gain weight? I don't think that's going to work. Lol

So now I'm trying to come up with higher calorie foods for him. I'm having a hard time since we can't do dairy and he can't handle the texture of nut butters yet, both of which were great when I was trying to get my daughter to gain weight. I feel like I should know better since I was a nutritionist for several years, but I'm just at a loss right now. Any suggestions to get me started in the right direction with him?

Honestly I'd get a second opinion. That nutrition advice sounds bad. Milk is great for little ones and she should be getting plenty of water in her diet. Just remember Gen prac Pedi's do very little nutrition study. If they are concerned a Nutrition consult should be in order not what this dr said.

Oh I remember that. I realize I have far more education in nutrition than they do. I've spent my morning looking for another pedi. I think I found one that I might try. She practices holistic medicine mainly, but is also a gp so she will still prescribe antibiotics and such when necessary. I think she would probably be more understanding of the things we do differently than mass American society. Lol

Quoting nicki.hemingway:

Honestly I'd get a second opinion. That nutrition advice sounds bad. Milk is great for little ones and she should be getting plenty of water in her diet. Just remember Gen prac Pedi's do very little nutrition study. If they are concerned a Nutrition consult should be in order not what this dr said.

We went through this with our first dr. Gave all sorts of outdated and somewhat dangerous advice. I ignored appropriately and found a new dr.

Quoting mewebb82:

Oh I remember that. I realize I have far more education in nutrition than they do. I've spent my morning looking for another pedi. I think I found one that I might try. She practices holistic medicine mainly, but is also a gp so she will still prescribe antibiotics and such when necessary. I think she would probably be more understanding of the things we do differently than mass American society. Lol

Quoting nicki.hemingway:

Honestly I'd get a second opinion. That nutrition advice sounds bad. Milk is great for little ones and she should be getting plenty of water in her diet. Just remember Gen prac Pedi's do very little nutrition study. If they are concerned a Nutrition consult should be in order not what this dr said.

Have you ever heard of the GAPS diet? My son wouldn't gain any weight because he was a starch and carb junkie. He would prefer to eat anything like rice, pasta, potatoes, etc over everything else. My son ate a lot but he never gained weight. We went on GAPS and he gained weight. That wasn't why we started eating that way (I hate calling it a diet because it's a lifestyle and about healing the gut). Some kids guts are a wreck and they don't absorb things properly. If he's having yeast rashes it definitely sounds like it could be beneficial. Does he have a lot of sensory aversions to food? That can play a part in it too.

This is his first yeast rash ever. I have heard of the GAPS diet and I don't really agree with it. He really doesn't eat a lot of carbs to begin with, but we do practice clean eating and eat raw foods as much as we can and I have since long before he was born. He prefers raw fruits and veggies to anything else, but he eats a lot of beans and nuts as well and I'm actually struggling to add carbs to his diet. He doesn't really have sensory aversions to food aside from meat but many toddlers have issues with the texture of meat and being vegetarian myself, I don't really have concerns with that at all. Really, he is a very healthy eater.....in a kind of weird way. I have never seen another toddler refuse cookies and ask for kale chips instead. Lol

Quoting jconney80: Have you ever heard of the GAPS diet? My son wouldn't gain any weight because he was a starch and carb junkie. He would prefer to eat anything like rice, pasta, potatoes, etc over everything else. My son ate a lot but he never gained weight. We went on GAPS and he gained weight. That wasn't why we started eating that way (I hate calling it a diet because it's a lifestyle and about healing the gut). Some kids guts are a wreck and they don't absorb things properly. If he's having yeast rashes it definitely sounds like it could be beneficial. Does he have a lot of sensory aversions to food? That can play a part in it too.

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